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Sangakkara’s advice for India’s T20 World Cup hopefuls is to “focus on the IPL”

Sruthi Ravindranath11-Apr-20215:34

Sangakkara: ‘Everyone has individual strengths that are valued, we try to meld that into a good unit’

While Rajasthan Royals’ new captain Sanju Samson believes their batting order will see “a bit more stability” in IPL 2021, their team director Kumar Sangakkara, however, wants the team to keep its options open before finalising the first-choice pair at the top of the order, where they tried five different combinations last season.The Royals had the likes of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Steven Smith taking turns to open for them last season, before settling on the pair of Ben Stokes and Robin Uthappa for their last five matches. Samson is hopeful of bringing about a change this time around, as he acknowledged the importance of giving the opening pair time to settle.Related

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“Sanga and I will try to give the best combination for our team,” Samson said during a virtual press conference. “From my point of view, I feel it’s important to give an individual or a pair of opening partners enough time in the tournament, so I think a bit of stability will be seen this time in the tournament. I think the rest will depend upon how we go.””I think it’s a decision we’ll undertake with the full buying of the players involved and we look to finalise later on today before we go for training,” Sangakkara said. “We want to keep our options open. The most important things is that players are communicated clearly as to what their roles are and get them to commit to it.”An area of concern for the Royals as they enter the season is the lack of experience in their Indian pace-bowling contingent. The likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Aaron were expensive last season, Kartik Tyagi and their two news buys – Chetan Sakariya and Kuldip Yadav – are a tad inexperienced to shoulder the responsibility. To work around this, their new foreign recruit Chris Morris will be expected to carry most of the load, especially in the absence of Jofra Archer, who was not only the leader of the attack but also their most consistent performer last season.”It’s a big blow for us. I think Jofra is an absolutely vital part of our make up,” Sangakkara said. “Not to have him unfortunately is the reality of it and we have to plan around it. We have contingencies. We understand it’s a difficult time for Jofra. He’s played through a full series against India for England through pain and did excellently well. We’re hoping at some point he’ll be able to join us and play some part in our IPL [campaign].”I think inexperience sometimes work for you and again inexperience could mean the opposition has not seen them either. But fast bowling, especially in the IPL, is not an easy task. I’m confident our fast bowlers will step up. We have Kartik Tyagi who did very well lasts season in patches and various phases of the game. This time we have new additions in Kuldip Yadav and Chetan Sakariya. So I think it’s about keeping them focused on what their job is really and get them trained and prepared to execute all the different deliveries and scenarios and match plans for the opposition. But at the same time concentrate in giving them confidence about their own strengths.”Sangakkara’s advice for T20 world Cup hopefuls: ‘Focus on the IPL’With the T20 World Cup less than five months away, Sangakkara feels India hopefuls Samson and Rahul Tewatia need to focus on their performances in the IPL to book their spot for the tournament. Samson’s heroics at the IPL last season earned him a place in the India side for the T20Is against Australia, but he made just 48 runs in three games on the tour and was then left out for the series against England. Tewatia was called up for the England T20Is but he did not get a game.Sangakkara had some advice for the two, who, according to him, have got “great cricketing sense”, on how to deal with the pressure and expectations.”I think the pressure is always there,” Sangakkara said. “You can try and forget about it but the reality is that expectations is always there. You have various coping mechanism and techniques to deal with them. It’s important to have those grand ambitions of regularly playing international cricket. I think Sanju and Rahul are absolutely capable of being regulars, not just that but great outstanding performers on the international stage. They’ve got amazing ability, great cricketing sense and both of them over the years have progressed. Sanju has been a young batting superstar for quite a while on the Indian scene and is always talked about.”I think the real key is the process to get to the ambition, take it match by match in the IPL, and keep your focus on the IPL. Each game you play each innings and that’s how you break that process down. It is important that both of them have the freedom and trust of the team to express themselves – to be Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia.”

Dan Lawrence resists with 76 but Essex lead by just 45 going into day three

Andrew Miller16-Apr-2021After 12 matches and almost three years, the Fortress is on the brink of being conquered. Two half-formed comebacks in consecutive days, this time with their newest golden boy Dan Lawrence to the fore, cannot distract from the sort of frailties that have not been seen in Essex’s cricket for several seasons – ones that have left Durham on the brink of a seismic victory in the champions’ backyard.By the close of the second day, Essex had eked out a lead of 45 with four wickets still to come – and they will be able to look to Durham’s own close-of-play position on day one to know that, on this misleadingly placid deck, there could and should be plenty of resistance still to come. But with Scott Borthwick capping a superb captain’s performance with two late wickets, and the extra pace of Brydon Carse prising out the two vital wickets of Lawrence and Tom Westley, Durham showed the same hunger in the field that their lower-order had displayed with the bat. It’ll take something truly remarkable for this position to now slip from their fingers.The early signs that Durham were not for buckling came as play resumed in the brightest, most summery conditions of the match. After picking up four wickets for as many runs in the previous evening’s gloom to reduce their visitors to 148 for 8, Essex no doubt fancied their prospects of making hay in their second innings as soon as their opportunity came – whatever the deficit, they surely couldn’t make as many errors as they produced on the first morning of the contest.But they were never given a sniff of an early re-insertion, as Stuart Poynter and Matt Salisbury knuckled down for a ninth-wicket stand of 94 that grew in stature as the morning progressed. Essex opened with their likeliest partnership of Sam Cook and Simon Harmer, but they were each defied with ease, with Cook leaking a pair of soft-handed boundaries through third man that confirmed the pitch’s lack of menace now that the clouds had rolled away.And Essex’s frustration grew as steadily as the confidence of the two batsmen, and the size of the lead. Salisbury defied a previous first-class best of 37 by climbing onto the front foot to club Harmer down the ground for four – a shot that was wildly acclaimed on the Durham balcony – before Poynter rocked back to greet Jamie Porter’s first ball with a hard-handed crack through point. And even when Harmer exacted his revenge against Salisbury, inducing a lob to short leg for 42, Chris Rushworth strode out at No. 11 with every bit as much intent to loiter.Lawrence by this stage was on to partner Harmer in a twin-spin attack, but Rushworth responded with a volley of three sublime boundaries – including an inside-out drive through the covers to take the lead past 150. Sam Cook had to be recalled to restore order, inducing a third-ball nick to slip that brought an early lunch, but with a lead of 163 secured, and Poynter unbeaten on 52, the session had delivered riches far beyond anything that Durham could have wished for.The stage was set, therefore, for the champions to show their mettle, but sadly for Nick Browne, he never looked like being the man to deliver. He escaped his pair by the skin of his teeth, with an uncomfortable leading edge through the covers after edging short of slip, but two balls later, he climbed into a dreadful drive to an inducker from Rushworth, and lost his middle stump as he knelt through his stroke in resignation.Related

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At the other end, there was Alastair Cook – and whoever dares to write off English cricket’s most decorated nugget? But for the fourth innings in a row, he produced a curious blend of mindsets – with a brace of pinged cover-drives hinting at a fluency that he never quite showed in any other facet of his game. He’d ground along to 12 in the best part of an hour, before flicking uppishly to a leg-stump half-volley from Salisbury, and Jack Burnham at midwicket swallowed the offering with glee.From 19 for 2, Essex needed their two in-form batsmen to show their mettle, and for the next 34 overs they did just that. Westley, a double-centurion in the season opener against Worcestershire, was joined by Lawrence – whose first-innings 32 had been bettered only by the rampant Borthwick on that manic first day. And between them they chipped away at Durham’s lead in a stand of 103 that ought to have given their side the platform for a genuine fightback.Arguably, Essex’s first-innings agenda had been set by Westley’s flighty drive, and he had to overcame a few more anxious moments early on, as Salisbury in particular challenged his outside edge. But Lawrence, at the start of a summer in which most of his fellow Test batsmen are either injured, or at the IPL, or out of form, or all three, slipped effortlessly into the higher gear that showed he’s not about to shy away from the hard yakka now that he’s broken into the England set-up.After getting off the mark with a deflection through third man, he found the extra pace of Carse particularly to his liking as he rifled a pair of cuts through backward square, before showing off his wristy timing with a sublime pick-up off the toes from Ben Raine. And as he crashed Salisbury through the covers to bring up his first half-century of the season, the confidence being projected by Lawrence was palpable. So long as was on hand to set the terms for Durham’s fourth-innings target, there was no reason for Essex to believe that the game was out of reach.But then came the fatal lapses that have undermined Essex’s performances all match long. On 38, Westley lost his shape as Carse induced a gruesome back-foot waft to first slip, and though Lawrence kept cracking on in the same forthright manner, Carse would have his number too four overs later. Another back-of-a-length delivery lured a flat, hard pull through midwicket – but Lawrence connected almost too well with the stroke. It fizzed to Will Young at deep midwicket, who made a crucial chance look simple.Now Essex were truly rudderless, as Paul Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate clawed their way towards a lead with a series of imposing, but rattled boundaries. On 16, ten Doeschate attempted to biff a half-volley from Borthwick back down the ground, but managed only to scuff it in the air for the bowler to cling onto a blinder, diving across the crease. And the captain put his personal seal on the day two overs later, as Adam Wheater was done in by a ripping legbreak outside off, edging through to Poynter for 6.At least Walter was still there at the close, one away from a gutsy half-century, and Harmer’s presence for day three will be a very visceral reminder of what could yet happen if Essex are allowed to build a defendable lead. You can be sure that he’ll defend every run with personal gusto. But the drawbridge has been lowered and hordes from the North are closing in. You can’t imagine many prisoners will be taken in the final reckoning.

Ian Blackwell took a career-best 7 for 52 with his left-arm spin as Durham secured a 19-run victory against Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2012
ScorecardIan Blackwell took a career-best 7 for 52 with his left-arm spin as Durham secured a 19-run victory against Australia A. The visitors were well placed on 99 without loss chasing 224 but after Ruel Braithwaite made the initial breakthroughs Blackwell, following his crucial innings on the second day, worked his way through the middle order.The openers, Ed Cowan and Liam Davis, resumed with a half-century stand already to their name and made good progress for nine overs until Cowan fell to Braithwaite who then quickly removed Michael Klinger for a duck.Blackwell, who played one Test for England in 2006, then started to make his impression by dislodging Peter Forrest but the key breakthrough came in his next over when Davis, who had made 62, was trapped lbw. Before this game Blackwell had only played second XI cricket since May, yet soon had three wickets to his name when Tom Cooper was caught behind for a duck.George Bailey and Tim Paine momentarily steadied the chase but Blackwell then jolted the innings again with two wickets in two balls. Firstly Bailey was caught by Ben Stokes at slip and Nathan Coulter-Nile was taken at short leg. Mitchell Starc hit the hat-trick ball for four but was bowled from the next delivery he faced against Blackwell, whose seventh wicket was that of Jon Holland.The last-wicket pair, Paine and Alister McDermott, edged Australia A towards their target but the last ball of Mitchell Claydon’s first over back in the attack ended the game when McDermott picked out deep cover.This was Australia A’s last warm-up match before their two-match series against England Lions which begins on August 7 at Old Trafford.

Scotland have been forced to rethink their plans for an overseas player after George Worke was selected for New Zealand’s development programme.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2012Scotland have been forced to rethink their plans for an overseas player this season after George Worker, the New Zealand batsman originally signed as their professional for 2012, was selected for New Zealand’s winter development programme.Worker, 23, had agreed to play for Scotland in the Clydesdale Bank 40 and coach and play for Watsonian CC on Myerside. But his impressive form for Canterbury has earned him a call up for the close-season programme.”It’s very disappointing news because George Worker ticked all the boxes,” Roddy Smith, the Cricket Scotland chief executive, told Cricket Media Scotland. “He played a few games for us last season and fitted in really well with all the guys. It will be extremely difficult – if not impossible – to replace him like-for-like.”He has made two centuries this season, scoring 337 first-class runs at 37.44 in five matches and 308 runs at 38.50 in eight 50-over matches.The 20-week programme features 10 up-and-coming players and runs from May 1 to September 30 – ruling Worker out of most of the British season – and includes five camps at the New Zealand high performance centre in Lincoln where players benefit from specialist support from New Zealand’s high performance coaching staff.”There is also an expectation that each player selected in the programme will also continue their work and commitment to develop a career outside the game by way of a part time job, study or work experience,” New Zealand national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said. “This is an important aspect of the programme and will form part of the players individual performance plan.”

Having a full-strength squad at his disposal for the first time should help

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2021Fifteen months into his Test captaincy, Mominul Haque will finally get a full-strength Bangladesh side at his disposal. The return of Shakib Al Hasan, the man he had replaced on the fateful evening of October 29, 2019, has made this possible.In his first series as Test captain, Bangladesh were without Shakib and Tamim Iqbal. For the second, Mushfiqur Rahim didn’t travel to Pakistan for the Rawalpindi Test. Then against Zimbabwe last February, Mominul had both Tamim and Mushfiqur in the line-up; Mushfiqur going on to score the match-winning double-century. But adding Shakib to the mix is certainly a big difference to the captain’s arsenal.Mominul said that the senior players are already supportive of his captaincy, but their presence in the field is going to add a missing dimension in terms of skills, experience and temperament.”It is a good opportunity for a young captain when the full squad is available,” he said. “Shakib’s batting and bowling is going to help me lead the side that will now have a better combination. The senior players have played for around 12 or 13 years.”I have nothing to ask for anything extra. They are all professionals, and they know exactly how to react and contribute. I am happy with their support in telling me how to handle certain situations.”It is likely that Bangladesh will pick all four of their best spinners in the XI – Shakib, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan and Nayeem Hasan. It also seems likely that they will field a rejuvenated Mustafizur Rahman, who has developed the in swinger to the right-hander along with his bag of cutters and other variations.This strength is such a sharp contrast to Mominul’s first two tours as Test captain, where he had to handle a depleted squad. In India, the gap in skills between the two Test sides was starkly evident. Bangladesh were beaten in a little over three days in both Indore and Kolkata, which hosted a huge party to commemorate the country’s first pink-ball Test.Then Bangladesh went down to their third innings defeat in a row against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, even as the country hadn’t fully gotten over their historic triumph at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. Then they somehow redeemed themselves against Zimbabwe at home.While having the seniors around is an advantage, Mominul would want to leave his stamp, both as a leader and batsman. While he is an established Test batsman, there have been rumblings on and off about his home and away record. He is regarded highly by senior cricketers, something that was particularly evident when Chandika Hathurusingha had dropped him in 2017, and later had to reinstate him in the squad.Mominul’s captaincy from this point is going to be an interesting period in Bangladesh cricket, where captaincy is often dependent on hierarchy. On perhaps only a couple of occasions, has the BCB chose a captain before his perceived “turn” in terms of seniority.After senior cricketers led the side during its pre-Test status era, the appointment of Naimur Rahman was a bit of a surprise in 2000. Nine years later, the 22-year old Shakib Al Hasan being thrust into the leadership role in the absence of the often injured Mortaza was another “out of turn” appointment.Bangladesh have been led by one of their five senior cricketers since 2009, so Mominul’s hasty ascent during that distressing October evening in Dhaka was a bit of a surprise. He has captained in four Tests but even Mominul would admit that he hasn’t quite become a leader of the team.For that, he would certainly need to lead the side in the presence of Bangladesh’s best cricketers, not just to prove to everyone that he can lead, but to ensure that he gives himself the best opportunity to win a Test match.

“For me, it’s about how can I learn, how can I grow, and focusing on trying to do the job for the team at that time”

Deivarayan Muthu19-Feb-20213:28

Have RCB sorted their batting out?

Kyle Jamieson had originally planned to sleep through the IPL auction, like Jimmy Neesham, but then woke up at around midnight in Christchurch to watch the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings bid furiously for him. The 6’8″ quick ended up attracting the day’s second-highest winning bid, with Mike Hesson’s Royal Challengers signing him up for INR 15 crore (USD 2 million approx).”It was pretty surreal, really, and it’s such a unique experience to watch yourself go through an auction like that in the early hours of the morning,” Jamieson said. “And I think it’s probably still trying to sink in a little bit and try to take in…Related

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“Yeah, it was weird, there’s no textbook to say how to approach that sort of stuff – that’s probably how I’ve tried to take it. It’s such a unique experience and it’s trying to embrace the whole situation of it all as just try to, I guess, enjoy the moment.”Having watched the madness unfold, Jamieson first called up his partner and then his parents.”I actually called my partner and actually woke her up,” Jamieson said. “She was asleep, and that was a pretty cool moment. Kind of sit back and there wasn’t a whole lot of words to be spoken to be fair, but then called mum and dad – they were up as well. Did that and then turned the phone off and tried to get some sleep.”Jamieson was also pleased to share the moment with former New Zealand quick Shane Bond who incidentally will plot against Jamieson in the Mumbai Indians backroom in the forthcoming IPL.”I had a message from Shane Bond as it [auction] was going and he was sort of saying, ‘How good is this!’ I didn’t actually know what the amount of money was and how that translated to New Zealand dollars,” Jamieson said. “It was quite cool to share that moment with him and sort of ride that two or three minutes with him.”Having become the highest-paid New Zealander at an IPL auction – his senior fast-bowling partner Trent Boult had previously attracted a bid of INR 5 crore from the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017 – Jamieson is now preparing to buy coffee and beer for his team-mates and also cop some friendly banter from them.”Yeah, I think there will be a bit [of banter] from Boult, [Tim] Southee etc. So, no, it’s all part of it, and there’s a lot of banter thrown around in this group anyway and it’s such an enjoyable place to be. It’s all harmless and just good fun.”‘I accept that there will be expectations but that’s been the case the whole time I’ve played’•Getty Images

Jamieson was looking forward to linking up with a star-studded RCB contingent, which also includes Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell who was signed for INR 14.25 crore (USD 1.95 million approx).”I think it’s such a special experience and I think [I’m] so fortunate to go to a team with superstars of the game like that,” Jamieson said. “They’ve had success for such a long period of time – those guys…Just to rub shoulders with them and try to learn and grow as a cricketer is something that I’m relishing.”Jamieson has never played competitive cricket in India previously, and the hefty price tag could invite pressure, but he downplayed it and hoped to pick up new tricks. His maiden IPL stint could potentially tune him up for the T20 World Cup, which is also slated to be held in India later this year.”To be fair, I don’t think a whole lot changes to me,” Jamieson said. “I accept that there will be expectations but that’s been the case the whole time I’ve played. When you play your first one-day game, first Test, and different series, there’s always expectation, but it’s probably more externally than it is with me. For me, it’s about how can I learn, how can I grow, and focusing on trying to do the job for the team at that time.”Shane Jurgensen, the New Zealand bowling coach, also believed Jamieson wouldn’t be distracted by the price tag and backed him to succeed in India with his pace and bounce.”He won’t change,” Jurgensen said. “He will still do his thing, his preparation, and he works hard. Like all our guys, he will do what he does. I think he will take it and he’s a very level young man – he’s worked hard on a lot of areas in his game and as I said it’s [a] reward for all he’s done.”After Jamieson bagged 6 for 7 – the best figures by a New Zealander and the fifth-best overall in T20 cricket – in the Super Smash on New Year’s Day in 2019, Hesson had tweeted: “An impressive bowler who at 6ft 8in can swing it… another one to add to the @BLACKCAPS stable.” Jamieson has since broken into New Zealand’s side across formats, most notably playing a crucial hand in their run to the WTC final, and now Hesson has added Jamieson to the RCB stable as well.

A burst of four wickets in 14 balls by Chris Wright tore apart the MCC batting and left Warwickshire in charge in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2013
ScorecardChris Wright ran through the MCC top order•PA Photos

Those questioning the continuation of the champion county match would have looked on day two as the fixture’s death knell after a sublime spell from Chris Wright ended the contest with two days to play.Wright reminded the England selectors of the talent that is around the counties with a burst of four wickets in 14 balls that destroyed the MCC innings. Together with the run out of Sam Northeast – backing up – Wright had removed five of the top six, with Joe Denly having retired ill, within 28 overs.Wright struck in his second spell, beginning with wickets with the first and last balls of the third over after being brought back on. He found some away swing to beat Dale Benkenstein playing across the line and then produced a similar ball to the left-handed Dawid Malan to wrap him on the pads.More away movement produced an edge from Peter Trego to slip before Jimmy Adams played carelessly outside off and was also caught in the cordon. Further wickets for Rikki Clarke – Ned Eckersley pulling to midwicket – and debutant Oliver Hannon-Dalby – Simon Kerrigan lbw shouldering arms – left MCC staring at a mammoth defeat.The collapse was in stark contrast to the untroubled progress that Warwickshire continued to make on the second day. They batted on into the afternoon to grind MCC into the desert. Laurie Evans and Jim Troughton both made half-centuries in a stand of 111 and further brisk cameos from Tim Ambrose, Clarke and 21-year-old Ateeq Javid – playing his ninth first-class game – racked up a big total.

Chase replaces Kraigg Brathwaite while Nicholas Pooran has retained the position in the T20I side

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2020Roston Chase has been named West Indies’ new vice-captain of the Test side for the series against New Zealand while Nicholas Pooran has retained the position in the T20I team.Pooran will be deputy to Kieron Pollard for the T20s, which begin on November 27 in Auckland, while Chase replaces Kraigg Brathwaite who was Jason Holder’s vice-captain for the Test series against England earlier this year.”He is an experienced player who is tactically aware and very purposeful in his approach to the game,” West Indies’ lead selector Roger Harper said of Chase. “He is readily willing to offer advice and discuss ideas with his fellow players and the coaches and I think will offer good leadership support to captain Jason Holder both on and off the field.”Chase has played 35 Tests with a batting average of 30.86 and a bowling return of 41.15.”I have been making strides in Test cricket since my debut back in 2016 and I see this new role as vice-captain as an honour,” he said. “It is just for me to try and carry on and try to achieve great things for West Indies. It is all about offering support to the captain, coach and other players as we try to plan strategy and put more wins on the board.”Chase was part of the advanced group of West Indies players who arrived in New Zealand earlier this month while Pooran will land on Thursday following the completion of the IPL where he was part of the Kings XI Punjab side.West Indies’ build-up for the tour was hit on Wednesday when they were barred from training for the remainder of their 14-day managed isolation period following breaches of protocol which included sharing food and mixing in hallways of the hotel.Cricket West Indies has launched an internal investigation headed by team manager Rawl Lewis although at this stage the initial squad members are still due to travel from Christchurch to Queenstown on Friday ahead of their first warm-up matches against New Zealand A.The players arriving from the IPL will complete their quarantine on the eve of the T20I series.

Rakep Patel, Thomas Odoyo and Jackie Janmohammed have stepped down after the team finished winless in WCL Division Two and was demoted to Division Three

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2018Kenya’s captain Rakep Patel has resigned after the team returned home winless from the WCL Division Two tournament in Namibia. The coach Thomas Odoyo has also stepped down, and so has the board president Jackie Janmohammed.By finishing last out of the six teams that participated, Kenya were demoted to Division Three. Their performance included a 218-run defeat, to UAE, which was the tournament’s worst in terms of margin of runs.Odoyo, who was part of the Kenyan team when they played World Cup cricket, found this turn of fortunes quite tough to take. “The one week we spent in Namibia was a week of mental anguish. It was stressful and I would not wish anyone to go through what I went through,” he was quoted as saying by the . “We broke record of poor performance. For Kenya to improve we must set up a high performance centre.”Janmohammed, the first woman to head a cricket board, made her call based on the team’s dismal performance as well. “One of the consideration that I took to account was the performance of the national team and somebody had to take responsibility for it,” she told .Janmohammed said Cricket Kenya would be conducting fresh elections to replace her in a month. “Whenever there a vacancy of an elected member, there must be an election in 30 days. The office will continue until the elections are conducted.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the second CB series ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Perth

The Preview by Nitin Sundar07-Feb-2012

Match facts

February 8, Perth
Start time 1220 (0420 GMT)MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag are set to play their first ODI together since the World Cup final•AFP

Big Picture

Just over 10 months have passed since Wankhede night, last April. Within that period, the fates of the two teams that brought the best out of each other in that memorable World Cup final have nose-dived in bizarre style. India have been mercilessly stripped of their No. 1 Test ranking, the sunset on their golden generation of batsmen hastened by eight successive away drubbings. But their one-day outfit still holds promise, with the energy of fresh legs and the power of broad bats, for the moment at least, masking the worry of poor techniques on quick pitches.Sri Lanka have had it worse. Finishing second-best in two successive World Cup finals is a tragedy in itself, but even that pales in comparison to what has transpired since. They have endured series after wretched series, home and away, against Australia, Pakistan and South Africa, with no silverware to show for their efforts except in the Twenty20 format. Their players haven’t been paid by a board that is now bankrupt. Battered on the field and off it, Sri Lanka are already under their third captain since the World Cup. Mahela Jayawardene led them in the 2008 edition of the CB series, and his reluctant return to the musical chair gives rise to the uneasy feeling that Sri Lanka haven’t progressed in four seasons.Both teams are desperate for the familiarity of better times, and their first encounter since Wankhede will provide them just that. No two sides have played each other more often in ODI history, especially in recent years – 34 of their 129 clashes came between 2008 and 2010. This series kicks off another glut of games between these thick foes, with the Asia Cup and a bilateral series in Sri Lanka to follow in quick succession. Establishing early supremacy in Australia could prove integral in determining which side heals better in the coming months.

Form guide

India LWWLW (Most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWLLL

In the spotlight

MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag haven’t played together in an ODI since the World Cup final, though they have individually featured in 11 and four games, respectively. When Sehwag’s been fit, Dhoni has been rested. When Sehwag was expected to play, he was ‘rested’ in the first game of this series. Murmurs of dressing-room disagreements between India’s captain and vice-captain mean their internal dynamics will be scrutinised when they take the field in Perth. Signs are that Sehwag will play – you normally don’t ‘rest’ a batsman who smashed the highest score in ODI history in his last outing.India wouldn’t have forgotten Thisara Perera who thumped them to all corners of Mumbai in the end overs of the World Cup final. It wasn’t the first time Perera showcased his big-hitting skills through the leg side, and it wasn’t the last. More recently, he cracked five sixes in an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls to help Sri Lanka chase 300 against South Africa. His late-swinging yorkers could make him effective at the back-end of Sri Lanka’s bowling innings too.

Team news

India won the last edition of the CB series by playing to the conditions, as opposed to their traditional strengths. Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth, all played big roles with the new ball, while spin was relegated to a support role. MS Dhoni went the other way on Sunday, and the move backfired when India’s three inexperienced spinners came unstuck in a rain-reduced game. The Perth track will be more amenable to pace, and Dhoni will consider bringing in Pathan for Ravindra Jadeja, whose 2.4 overs leaked 41 runs against Australia. Sehwag is expected to play, with Gautam Gambhir making way at the top of the order. Zaheer Khan or Umesh Yadav could be in line for a call-up too, since India could do with an extra yard of pace.India: (possible) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Irfan Pathan/Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Vinay Kumar, 10 & 11 Praveen Kumar/Umesh Yadav/Zaheer KhanInjury kept Jayawardene out of the latter stages of the ODI-leg of the South Africa tour. He will resurface in the middle order on Wednesday. On form, Angelo Mathews should make way, but the axe is likely to fall on Lahiru Thirimanne who hit a match-winning 69 in the final ODI in South Africa.Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Chanaka Welegedara/Dhammika Prasad

Pitch and conditions

The WACA strip was zippy in the Test match, and is expected to behave similarly, but it would require bowlers with real pace to make that count. The conditions in Perth are dry and hot, meaning the pitch has cracks to go with its green tinge. The teams will have an interesting time zeroing in on their bowling units.

Stats and trivia

• India hold the advantage against Sri Lanka in ODIs, with a 68-50 head-to-head record. They also have a 2-1 advantage in games in Australia.
• Only one batsman has scored over 3000 runs against one particular team – Sachin Tendulkar against Australia (3060). If he gets 18 runs on Wednesday, he would have repeated the feat against Sri Lanka.

Quotes

“I think they haven’t played really well in the Test series. That’s a plus point for us. [But] They are a different team when it comes to the one-dayers. We are up for it and we are ready to go.”

“[On] Any day, any team can beat anybody.”